Written Answers Friday 9 September 2005

Scottish Executive

Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on the outcome of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council held in Luxembourg on 18 to 19 July 2005.

Ross Finnie: Margaret Beckett, Ben Bradshaw and Jim Knight attended the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on the 18 July 2005. As I was on holiday I did not attend.

  The UK Presidency presented its work programme for the next six months. This included, amongst other things, sugar reform, the EU’s Rural Development Strategic Guidelines, Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), Avian Influenza, Welfare of Broiler Chickens and a range of proposals to progress the sustainability of the fisheries industry.

  The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection took the opportunity to announce adoption of a TSE Roadmap setting out the Community's BSE Strategy for the short-, medium- and long-term and signalled his intention to publish an Action Plan on Animal Welfare towards the end of the year.

  He also presented a proposed Directive establishing minimum rules for the welfare of chickens kept for meat production. The Presidency said would it take forward technical discussions on the proposal.

  At the request of France, Council discussed the measures introduced by the Commission on 1 July to protect the Bay of Biscay anchovy stock. The Commission was not prepared to relax its ban on fishing at this stage but said it would keep the situation under constant review.

  The Agriculture Commissioner presented her proposal for EU Strategic Guidelines for Rural Development, hoping for political agreement on this proposal in October. The Guidelines aimed to ensure that rural development programmes contributed to the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives of jobs, growth and sustainability. Once the EU Guidelines had been agreed, they would be the basis for drawing up national strategies through a process of dialogue between member states and the Commission.

  The Council held its first discussion on Commission proposals to reform the EU sugar regime. There was broad support for a restructuring scheme instead of production quota cuts and for a 10-year time horizon but some member states argued that the proposed price cuts went too far and too fast; that compensation should be higher, and that the Everything But Arms import arrangements should be reviewed.

  Under Any Other Business, Italy called for the Commission to open crisis distillation measures before the end of July to deal with the critical situation on its wine market. The Commission replied that they needed time to analyse the situation, but would do so as quickly as possible.

  The Netherlands expressed concern about the clarity of Community marketing standards for poultry meat. In particular, they were concerned that poultry meat that had been frozen should not be labelled as fresh. They also called for the introduction of a label for poultry meat originating from EU. The Commission agreed that marketing defrosted poultry meat as fresh did not conform with EU standards. The Commission would reflect thoroughly on both questions.

  The Council discussed the measures introduced by the Commission on 1 July to protect the Bay of Biscay anchovy stock. This was at the request of France who wanted a more limited closure to avoid unnecessarily severe socio-economic repercussions. The Commission, supported by Spain and Germany, would not relax the ban agreed to keep it under constant review.

Ambulance Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average response time to an emergency call to the ambulance service was in each NHS board area in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  

 NHS Board Area
1997-98
  (minutes)
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Argyll and Clyde
 9.7
 10.7
 9.9
 10.0
 10.1
 11.0
 10.2
 11.9*


 Ayrshire and Arran
 9.2
 9.5
 9.1
 9.4
 9.6
 9.4
 9.5
 8.6*


 Borders
 9.9
 9.7
 9.7
 9.9
 9.8
 10.0*
 8.8*
 9.2*


 Dumfries and Galloway
 9.6
 9.5
 9.5
 9.4
 9.2
 10.7
 9.7
 10.1*


 Fife
 9.2
 9.0
 8.6
 8.7
 8.6
 8.6*
 8.1*
 7.9*


 Forth Valley
 9.0
 9.8
 9.7
 9.7
 10.0
 9.3*
 8.6*
 8.6*


 Grampian
 8.6
 9.5
 8.7
 9.4
 9.1
 11.3
 8.1*
 7.6*


 Greater Glasgow
 10.0
 10.4
 9.8
 10.0
 9.5
 9.2*
 8.6*
 8.9*


 Highland
 9.5
 10.1
 9.6
 9.8
 9.7
 8.3*
 9.0*
 9.5*


 Lanarkshire
 9.7
 10.2
 10.6
 10.9
 11.4
 10.7*
 9.3*
 9.6*


 Lothian
 8.8
 9.7
 8.8
 8.8
 8.8
 8.8*
 7.9*
 7.9*


 Orkney
 11.3
 11.5
 9.6
 11.4
 13.3
 11.4
 10.5
 10.3


 Shetland
 12.5
 13.5
 11.6
 13.7
 14.2
 13.8
 12.2
 13.6


 Tayside
 8.0
 8.7
 8.7
 8.7
 8.7
 8.6*
 8.4*
 8.2*


 Western Isles
 9.7
 10.7
 10.4
 11.1
 11.2
 11.2
 10.5
 10.6


 Scotland
 9.3
 9.8
 9.5
 9.6
 9.5
 9.8
 9.3*
 8.6*



  Note: *Under Priority Based Dispatch Category "A" (Life Threatening) calls only. Previously the time was to all emergency incidents.

  In some boards the recent decline in the average response time is a reflection of the consequences for the Scottish Ambulance Service of changes made by NHS boards to how they provide hospital services. Where such changes have been made then we have provided for additional resources to be put in by the Scottish Ambulance Service to enable it to manage these consequences. It takes time for the additional staff resources to be trained and deployed and for the impact on service times to materialise. This is also against the background that the ambulance service has responded to 32,257 more emergency incidents in 2004-05 than it did in 2002-03 (332,474 in 2004-05 against 300,217 in 2002-03) – an increase of 10.7% over the last two years.

Avian Influenza

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been conducted into the economic impact of an outbreak of avian influenza amongst poultry flocks.

Ross Finnie: There have been no recent outbreaks of avian influenza in the UK and as such no quantified assessments are available. The impact of any outbreak would depend on specific circumstances such as the type of birds infected, their location the scale of any outbreak and its duration.

Avian Influenza

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to protect domestic fowl from avian influenza.

Ross Finnie: Whilst the threat of avian influenza to the UK is judged to be low a number of actions have been taken to protect the Scottish poultry industry. In particular the Scottish Executive has been working with other UK administrations to:

  Provide stakeholders with biosecurity guidance to minimise the risk of disease incursion, egg through contact with wild birds, and minimise the risk of disease spread;

  Undertake surveys into the presence of low pathogenic avian influenza in domestic poultry and migrating birds, and

  Negotiate the terms of the new EU Avian influenza Directive, ensuring it provides an up to date and proportionate base to respond to any outbreak of avian influenza.

  In addition, well developed contingency plans are held by the State Veterinary Service for responding to any suspect case of avian influenza.

  It remains important that poultry keepers maintain good biosecurity levels and report any suspicion of disease to the State Veterinary Service

Concessionary Travel

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether carers travelling with blind passengers will qualify for concessionary fares under the national concessionary travel scheme to be introduced in April 2006.

Tavish Scott: No decisions have been taken on the eligibility criteria for the Scotland-wide free bus scheme for older and disabled people. The final criteria, including any companion entitlements, will be contained in secondary legislation. We plan to consult on the content of the draft order in the autumn, taking account of proposals by a stakeholder task group.

Council Tax

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a deferred payment scheme in respect of council tax for pensioners.

George Lyon: There are no plans to introduce a deferred payment scheme in respect of council tax for pensioners.

  If any individual is experiencing difficulties in paying their council tax charge they should discuss making alternative payment arrangements with their local council. Councils have the discretion to extend payment periods over a 12 month period rather than the standard 10. For those on lower incomes, a comprehensive council tax benefit system is available.

Council Tax

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the single discount for council taxpayers to 50% and, if so, how this will be funded and what effect it will have on other discounts and exemptions.

George Lyon: There are no plans to increase the single person’s discount for council taxpayers to 50%.

Drug Misuse

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug-related deaths have been recorded in the North Ayrshire local authority area in each year since 1995-96.

George Lyon: The information requested is given in the following table.

  Drug-Related Deaths, North Ayrshire, 1996-2004

  

 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 2
 2
 2
 5
 11
 15
 14
 9
 13

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many deaths (a) heroin, (b) ecstasy, (c) amphetamines, (d) other illicit substances, (e) alcohol and (f) tobacco were recorded as causes in each year since 1997.

George Lyon: The number of drug-related deaths where heroin, ecstasy, or amphetamines were known to be involved is given in the following table. As individual deaths may involve a number of drugs, it is not possible to say how many deaths were caused by each specific drug. Because many drugs of abuse may be obtained legally but subsequently used illegally, it is not possible to provide information on "other illicit" drugs. There is no standard definition of alcohol-related deaths. The figures shown in the table cover key causes of death known to be associated with alcohol.

  

 
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Drug-related deaths – total
 224
 249
 291
 292
 332
 382
 317
 356


 of which involving
 


 Heroin (incl. morphine) 1
 74
 121
 167
 196
 216
 248
 175
 225


 Ecstasy
 2
 3
 8
 11
 20
 20
 14
 17


 Amphetamines
 6
 7
 7
 3
 5
 13
 10
 10


 Alcohol related deaths 2
 851
 912
 1013
 1129
 1219
 1321
 1342
 1313



  Notes:

  1. The table shows a combined total for heroin/morphine as it is believed that, in the overwhelming majority of cases where morphine has been identified in post-mortem toxicological analyses its presence is as a result of heroin use.

  2. Deaths from:

  (a) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (ICD10 codes F100 to F109, ICD9 codes 291, 303 and 3050);

  (b) Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ICD10 code I426, ICD9 code 4255), and

  (c) Alcoholic liver disease (ICD codes K700 to K709, ICD9 codes 5710 to 5713).

  It is unusual for doctors to mention tobacco (or smoking) as a contributory cause of death when completing death certificates. For example, of the 56,187 deaths registered in 2004, tobacco/smoking was mentioned on fewer than 300 occasions. However, in Health in Scotland 2004, the Chief Medical Officer reported that some 13,000 Scots die each year from smoking-related illness.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether companies within the fish farming sector have asked Highlands and Islands Enterprise for loan assistance; if so, what its response has been; whether the Executive is satisfied with any such response, and, if not, what action it will take.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive was approached by a number of fish farming companies asking for financial assistance. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), at the request of ministers, has responded quickly to this situation. We understand that HIE will make an announcement on investment proposals shortly.

  Also HIE and Scottish Enterprise are continuing to work closely together in assessing wider sectoral solutions. The Scottish Executive is very grateful for the huge effort the enterprise networks are making to find solutions to help the industry.

Environmental Justice

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers Scotland to be compliant with the access to justice provisions of the Aarhus Convention and, if not, what steps it will take to ensure compliance.

Ross Finnie: The Aarhus Convention and European environmental directives use the term "access to justice" to refer to access to the courts, or to other impartial bodies, to ask them to review the legality of the procedures of public authorities under certain environmental legislation.

  To achieve compliance with the access to justice provisions of Aarhus the Scottish Executive has first provided access to the Scottish Information Commissioner for review of responses to requests for environmental information. To complete the task, in the near future it will lay regulations allowing environmental Non-Governmental Organisations to have decisions on permit applications reviewed by a court in respect of regimes on pollution prevention and control and environmental impact assessment.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assist the fishing industry to cope with increasing fuel costs.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive continues to be in close dialogue with the industry, the UK government and the EU Commission regarding the effects of high fuel costs and continues to explore what options might be available.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18341 on 10 August 2005, which outlined the five potential fuel support measures which Commissioner Borg described at a meeting with the industry on 29 July. The Scottish Executive is keeping close to the Commissioner as thinking in Brussels develops.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Fisheries

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on performance targets set for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency for 2005-06.

Ross Finnie: For the year 2005-06 the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency’s financial resources will provide for the following inputs from the surveillance and enforcement assets at its disposal:

  Air: Total flying hours contracted – 1,900.

  Sea: Total available patrol days – 1,240.

  Land: Total available British Sea

  Fishery Officer enforcement days – 9,266.

  Based on these inputs, I have set the following targets for the financial year 2005-06:

  Aerial Surveillance

  - per cent of hours flown on task 85%

  - cost per hour flown on task £1,117.

  Marine surveillance

  - uptake as a % of available patrol days 98%

  - cost per effective patrol day £5,821.

  Sea Fisheries Inspectorate

  - per cent of total tonnage landed into Scottish ports checked against logsheet 80%

  - cost per catch inspection £165.

  Cases for Prosecution

  - cases for prosecution to be reported within six weeks of offences being detected 97%

  - number of cases where court proceedings are taken or the imposition of a PF fine, as percentage of offences reported to prosecuting authorities 94%.

  Efficiency

  - cash-releasing efficiency gain as a % of the total running cost budget 1.0%.

  The Chief Executive will be directly accountable to me for the achievement of these targets, which will be reported in the agency's annual report.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1417 by Malcolm Chisholm on 30 July 2003, when the 2003 Scottish Health Survey will be published.

Mr Andy Kerr: Results from the 2003 Scottish Health Survey will be published in November 2005 in the form of a summary report and four separate volumes focussing on cardiovascular disease, adults, children and a technical report. All of these will be available on the web as well as hard copy publications. There will also be separate tables of results for each NHS board available on the web only.

  The revised timetable for the publication was required in order to ensure Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committee clearance and to extend the survey period to December 2004 to ensure sufficient responses were achieved.

Midwifery

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many midwives have been employed by each NHS board in each of the last six years, showing also year-on-year percentage changes.

Mr Andy Kerr: Due to the large volume of data requested, the information has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37395).

  The demand for midwives reflects the continuing falling number of births in Scotland. The number of births has reduced from 56,589 per year in 1999 to 52,112 in 2004, a drop of 7.9%.

  The workforce required to meet the future shape of maternity services in Scotland is being led by the National Maternity Services Workforce Planning Group, jointly chaired by Patricia Purton (RCM) and Professor Andrew Calder (NHS Lothian).

NHS Funding

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has a policy on the use of non-recurring monies to fund the revenue budgets of NHS boards.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards are allocated a Revenue and Capital Resource Limit by the Executive and it is the responsibility of each NHS board to manage within these resources.

  I have made it clear to boards that any use of non-recurring monies must be within the context of a sound long-term financial strategy.

NHS Funding

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much debt each NHS board had accumulated at the end of the last financial year.

Mr Andy Kerr: The health boards which overspent against their revenue resource in 2004-05 are detailed in the table, along with their actual cumulative overspend:

  Table 1: Accumulated Financial Deficits as at 31 March 2005

  

 NHS Board Area
£000


 Argyll and Clyde
 59,492


 Grampian
 10,774


 Lanarkshire
 20,042


 Western Isles
 738



  The department is working closely with NHS Argyll and Clyde, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Western Isles to address their cumulative overspend position.

NHS Funding

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has written off any of the accumulated debts of NHS boards since 1999 and, if so, of which boards, by how much and when.

Mr Andy Kerr: In 2001-02, the Scottish Executive allocated an additional £90 million to NHS boards to accelerate the implementation of Our National Plan: A plan for action, a plan for change . The £90 million formed part of the Finance Minister’s End Year Flexibility settlement and was distributed across all NHS boards. First call on this funding was, as a priority, the clearing of all cumulative deficits which had arisen since April 2001. Hence using these resources, seven NHS trusts cleared their cumulative financial deficits of £41 million as shown in the table.

  Table 1: Cumulative Financial Deficits Cleared in 2001-02

  

 NHS Trust
£000


 Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
 3,305


 Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care Trust
 1,077


 Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust
 4,914


 North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust
 9,491


 South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust
 4,092


 Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
 2,744


 Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust
 15,852


 Total
 41,205

National Health Service

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17992 by Mr Andy Kerr on 15 August 2005, why, in light of the mandatory requirement for NHS bodies to carry out trawl procedures, it did not give a positive response to the question.

Mr Andy Kerr: As question S2W-17992 asked "whether it is general practice for the availability of NHS land and property to be trawled …" and the response indicated that it is a mandatory requirement of current guidance. I believe that I provided a positive response.

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has revised its renewables target to 40% of electricity demand in Scotland rather than electricity generated in Scotland and whether it will provide details of its up-to-date policy and targets on renewables, showing any recent changes.

Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17105 on 20 June 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search . Our target remains that 40% of electricity generated in Scotland by 2020 should come from renewable sources. The report referred to in the answer to S2W-17105 estimated that the amount of installed capacity (as a proportion of forecast demand) required to meet the 40% generation target could amount to 6 GigaWatts. The report also stated that this should not be regarded as a cap.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out the programme for the commencement and completion of the M74, providing the estimated start and finish dates in respect of each part of the project put out to tender in three packages, and whether it has any concerns regarding any further delay to the commencement of the project.

Tavish Scott: The programme will be set out once the outcome of the appeal against the Road Order is known. The appeal hearing in the Court of Session has been arranged for 27 to 30 June and 4 and 5 July 2006.

Scottish Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total remuneration costs were for the members of Scottish Enterprise’s executive board in each of the last two financial years and what the estimated costs are for the current financial year.

Nicol Stephen: Remuneration of executive board members is determined by Scottish Enterprise within pay remits approved by Scottish ministers. Details of remuneration of senior directors for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are contained within Scottish Enterprise’s annual accounts, copies of which are held in the Parliament’s Reference centre (SE/2005/178). Estimated costs for the current year are operational matters for Scottish Enterprise.

Scottish Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will now respond to my freedom of information request for a copy of all Scottish Enterprise’s board papers relating to the development and establishment of intermediate technology institutes.

Nicol Stephen: I replied on 23 August, providing the information requested. I regret the delay in responding.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what energy costs it has incurred in (a) each of the last three years and (b) the current year to date, showing also year-on-year percentage changes, and what projections it has made in respect of its energy costs for 2005-06.

Mr Tom McCabe: (a) Energy Costs incurred by the Scottish Executive in Years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05:

  

 Energy Type
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Electricity
£592,545
£562,946
£529,336


 Gas
£131,963
£156,656
£261,209


 Liquid Fuel
£18,618
£25,346
£54,652



  (b)(i) Energy invoices paid by the Scottish Executive in 2005-06 to 31 July 2005:

  

 Energy Type
 2005-06


 Electricity
£188,042


 Gas
£49,726


 Liquid Fuel
£6,144



  (b)(ii) Year on Year percentage changes on energy costs incurred by the Scottish Executive for years 2002-03, 03-04 and 04-05:

  

 Energy Type
 
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Electricity
 Spend
£592,545
£562,946
£529,336


 Difference from previous year
 N/A
 -£29,599
 -£33,610


 Year on Year % difference
 N/A
 -5 %
 -6%


 Gas
 Spend
£131,963
£156,656
£261,209


 Difference from previous year
 N/A
£24,693
£104,553


 Year on Year % difference
 N/A
 19%
 67%


 Liquid Fuel
 Spend
£18,618
£25,346
£54,652


 Difference from previous year
 N/A
£6,728
£29,306


 Year on Year % difference
 N/A
 36%
 116%



  (b)(iii) Projected % change in the cost of energy to be incurred by the Scottish Executive between 2004-05 and 2005-06:

  

 Energy Type
 
 2004-05
Projected2005-06


 Electricity
 Spend
£529,339
£1,100,000


 Difference from previous year
 N/A
£570,661


 Year on Year % difference
 N/A
 108%


 Gas
 Spend
£261,209
£275,000


 Difference from previous year
 N/A
£13,791


 Year on Year % difference
 N/A
 5%


 Liquid Fuel
 Spend
£54,652
£100,000


 Difference from previous year
 N/A
£45,348


 Year on Year % difference
 N/A
 83%



  The Scottish Executive has benefited from a two year fixed price contract with Scottish and Southern Energy which was set at a particularly low point in the market.

  Since that contract was signed energy markets have been subject to a period of unprecedented volatility. Increases in oil and gas prices, political instability in key production areas and increased demand for energy have all combined to force prices up. The Executive has been protected from these changes during the period of the contract but the new contract reflects prevailing global market conditions.

  Since devolution the workload of the Executive has increased considerably. This has inevitably been reflected in the use of utilities such as electricity however the Executive is determined to reduce energy consumption where possible and has a wide range of energy efficiency measures in place – including low energy lighting, automatic lighting controls and flat screen computer monitors. In addition we are undertaking audits of all the Executive’s main buildings to identify further ways of reducing energy consumption.

Scottish Executive Staff

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any employees from the private sector have been seconded to work within Executive departments; if so, who they are, what departments they have been working in and what has been the duration and purpose of any such secondments.

Mr Tom McCabe: Since the year 2000 to date, 26 people from private sector organisations have been seconded to the Scottish Executive. The following table gives the names of the exporting organisations rather than the names of individuals, the departments they were seconded to, the duration of the secondment and its purpose.

  

 Organisation
 Department
 Duration of Secondment
 Purpose


 Start
 End


 Scottish Power
 Environment and Rural Affairs
 03-04-2000
 02-07-2000
 Information not available.


 Scottish Power
 Environment and Rural Affairs
 23-08-2000
 15-01-2001
 Information not available.


 Scottish Power
 Environment and Rural Affairs
 16-10-2000
 29-06-2001
 Information not available.


 Scottish Power
 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 31-01-2005
 31-07-2006
 To work with the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) secretariat in the delivery and implementation of the actions form the sub groups as part of a cohesive renewable energy strategy for Scotland


 Stagecoach
 Development
 01-09-2000
 01-12-2000
 To manage the SE Travel Awareness Campaign involving developing and delivering an overall awareness implementation strategy for Scotland


 Stagecoach West Ltd
 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 25-07-2005
 30-04-2006
To assist with the implementation of the free Bus Scheme for older and disabled people.


 Dundas and Wilson
 Finance and Central Services
 12-07-2004
 11-01-2005
 Provide skills and experience in the Financial Partnerships Unit.


 Dundas and Wilson
 Finance and Central Service
 22-11-2004
 31-03-2005
 To advise on legal issues in the Financial Partnerships Unit.


 PriceWaterhouseCoopers
 Health
 04-09-2001
 31-03-2004
 Develop a proposal for arrangements for financial monitoring within the NHS in Scotland.


 Mott MacDonald Ltd
 Environment and Rural Affairs
01-10-2001
 22-09-2004
 Provide engineering support services to the Air, Climate and Engineering Unit.


 Creative Services
 Education
 18-08-2003
 17-08-2005
 To provide expert advice on Tourism, Culture and Sport.


 Scottish Widows
 Office of the Permanent Secretary (Formerly Central Services)
13-10-2003
 31-12-2003
 To manage the project to implement a new payroll system within the Scottish Executive


 Henderson Loggie
 Development
 26-01-2004
 26-05-2004
 Project Manage a Scottish charity monitoring programme for consultation.


 Lloyds TSB Foundation
 Health
 06-04-2004
 05-04-2005
To project manage the implementation of a monitoring programme for Scottish charities.


 Royal Bank of Scotland
 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 19-04-2004
 18-04-2006
 Develop and deliver a series of Training and Development initiatives to both the education and business community to support the implementation of the ministerial initiative ‘Determined to Succeed’.


 PriceWaterhouseCoopers LL
 Finance and Central Service
 26-07-2004
 29-10-2004
 To assist in the production of the Scottish Executive Investment Plan. 


 Ernst and Young LLP
 Development
 16-08-2004
 15-02-2005
The role of Head of Financial Assessment Unit.


 Currie and Brown
 Communities Scotland
 23-08-2004
 17-12-2004
 To set up a new unit to manage and monitor a range of tasks associated with the delivery of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard and the Community Ownership Programme.


 Partnerships UK
 Finance and Central Service
 20-10-2004
 21-10-2005
 To support the work of the Financial Partnerships Unit


 CMS Cameron McKenna
 Finance and Central Service
 07-01-2005
 07-04-2005
 To work in the Solicitors Office in the Scottish Executive


 McGrigors
 Finance and Central Service
 10-01-2005
 10-05-2006
To work in the Solicitors Office in the Scottish Executive


 Lloyds TSB
 Finance and Central Service
 10-01-2005
 09-07-2005
 To project manage the implementation of a monitoring programme for Scottish charities.


 Bank of Scotland
 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 31-01-2005
 31-01-2007
 To engage national/corporate organisations in the ministerial initiative ‘Determined to Succeed’ agenda.


 Burness LLP
 Finance and Central Service
 16-05-2005
 16-11-2005
 To work in the Financial Partnerships Unit on legal issues, principally Education and Waste


 Halcrow Group Limited
 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 13-06-2005
 12-06-2006
To assist in the development of a National Transport Strategy for Scotland


 Anderson Anderson and Brown
 Development
 13-09-2005
 27-01-2006
 To develop and manage the financial systems and protocols for Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) policy issues.

Correction

The reply to question S2W-18062, which was originally answered on 23 August 2005, has been corrected: see page 5790 or http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-05/wa0906.htm.